


Treasured Friend

by Bitterlikesweets



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:33:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23172475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bitterlikesweets/pseuds/Bitterlikesweets
Summary: Sidon calls Link his treasured friend, and it sticks with him.
Relationships: Link/Prince Sidon
Comments: 5
Kudos: 166





	Treasured Friend

“Treasured friend.”

The words stuck with Link, even after he had left Zora’s domain in search of another Divine Beast to free from Ganon's clutches. There had been plenty of people he had met and saved and worked with, but Sidon was the only one who called him that.

A friend. A treasured friend.

It was nice to know that he had one.

Of course, there were people that Link personally considered to be friends. Teba, for example, who he had fought Vah Medoh with. It was the first Divine Beast he had faced, and he was grateful to have someone there with him.

But they weren't exactly… close.

Not that Link was really close with anyone these days. He had time to swoop into the town or village, do what he needed and then leave as quickly as he came. The words of the king were looming over Link's head every time he did something not related to saving Zelda. And it was always fun in the moment, but…

He was supposed to be a hero, not a regular person. Zelda kept him alive for one reason. And she was out there, suffering every single day. The longer Link took, the closer everyone was to losing Hyrule forever.

Perhaps it would've helped his motivation if he actually remembered her. 

He was starting to regain bits and pieces of his memory, but that's all they were; bits and pieces. Fragments of a past life he wasn't sure he wanted to live through again.

If he was being honest, he much preferred the new memories he had made—like the ones he had Sidon—than the old memories. All the old memories ever did was remind him of how he failed. 

So many people now still remembered how he had failed. People who were alive then still resented him. People who weren't born yet only remembered a hero who hadn't fulfilled his purpose, who had let Ganon take over Hyrule. 

Perhaps that was the reason he found himself so drawn to Sidon, even when they had just met. Sidon had so much… so much energy and hope. To Link, Sidon felt like a ray of sunshine even when his entire kingdom was plagued by endless rain. Everyone Link had met had looked at him with skepticism and doubt.

Except for Sidon. Sidon barely knew him, and Sidon believed in him.

Well, perhaps that was just because he had to, but Link appreciated it nonetheless.

Sidon made Link feel like he actually had a right to live in the present. Maybe that was why Link found himself coming back to him, again and again. When he was at his lowest, when he felt like a failure, when memories from a hundred years ago began to weigh so heavily on him that he felt like he might suffocate—

He found himself back in Zora's Domain, looking for that familiar smile, desperately searching for that energetic voice. 

And he could breathe again.

Was this what it was like to have a treasured friend?

As time went on, Link started to feel like it was more than that. Link needed Sidon; he wanted to be with the prince all the time.

He wondered what this feeling was. He wondered if he had ever felt it before. He considered asking Sidon, but he didn't know how to put it into words. Sidon was always so much better than Link at saying what he felt.

Until he could figure out the name, he decided that "treasured friend" was enough. It was his treasured friend that made him look towards to future. That made him think of what he could do after Ganon was gone. He could save Zelda, and the weight would be off his back. He could be free to do whatever he wanted! 

He bought a house in Hateno, wondering if it was too far for Sidon to visit, wondering what it would be like to pull the prince away from all his responsibilities even for just a little while.

Would he feel relieved, just as Link did when Sidon did that for him? What could Link do to make him happy?

He went to Shatterback Point after every blood moon, determined to keep the prince and his people safe from the Lynel's deadly shock arrows. He practiced swimming as often as he could, wondering if he could increase his speed enough to swim side by side with Sidon. 

And he knew that he was technically wasting time, that Zelda was in the castle waiting for him, and he did feel guilty, but…

He wanted to think about himself too. He wanted to think  _ for _ himself. There was a future for him after he saved her, and he wanted to craft it himself. She had her future, her plans, her ideas, and surely Link was part of them in some way.

But he wanted to have a life outside of her. He wanted a life with Sidon. Surely Link could help her and still have time to be with Sidon.

He would make time.

What was the name of the feeling he felt stirring within his chest whenever he saw Sidon? How could he figure it out?

One late night, when he was standing with Sidon, staring up at the statue of Mipha, something in his brain clicked. He looked down at the Zora armor he was wearing and he understood.

This feeling…

It was love.

**Author's Note:**

> I just started playing BOTW in master mode and doing everything again made me remember how much I love these two.


End file.
